Fly-trap.



- C. E. STIPP.

FLY TRAP. APPLICATION FILED .IULY15, 1912- 1,167,855.. Patented Jan111, 1916.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES E. STIPP, OF DILLON, MONTANA.

FLY-TRAP.

Application filed July 15 of Montana, have lnvented certain new and useful Improvements in Fly-Traps; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

'1 his invention relates to improvements in attachments for screen .doors or windows and has for one of its-objects to provide, in combination with the frame of a screen door, Electrically charged screens for electrocuting ies.

Another object of the invention is to provide a screen door having the ordinary screens attached thereto, and screens of larger mesh secured to the door on'the inside and outside so as to form spaces between the ordinary screen and the ones of larger mesh.

A further object is to provide a screen door having screens of large and small mesh,

each of which is adapted to be connected to one terminal of an electric circuit, the screens of large mesh being disposed on opposite sides of the screen of small mesh and closely adjacent thereto, but out of contact therewith, so that the insects passing through the outer screen will come in contact with the inner and outer screens and complete a. circuit through their bodies whereupon they will be electrocuted.

WVith these and other objects in view, the invention consists in the construction, combination and arrangement of parts as will be more fully hereinafter described and pointed out in the claims, but it will be understood that changes in the specific structure may be made within the scope of the claims, without departing from the spirit of the invention. a

In the drawings: Figure 1 is a front elevation of the door casing and screen door showing my invention applied. Fig. 2 is a vertical section on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1, looking toward the right in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is an enlarged detailed view in section of one of the contact members between the top of the door and the upper part of the door casing, the section being on of Fig. 1. Fig. l is a view similar to Fig.

Specification of Letters Patent.

such as will enable others skilled in the" the line 3-31 Patented Jan. 11, 1916.

, 1912. Serial No. 709,531.

3, the section being taken on the line 4-4= of Fig. 1.

Referring. now particularly to the drawings, in which is shown a preferred form of screen door and attachment made in accordance with my invention, A represents the door casing, on the lower face of the upper cross strip 1 of which is secured a pair of contact plates 2 and 2 by means of the screws 3 and 3, which form binding posts or terminals. On a shelf 4 located above the door frame is a spark coil 5. th'e primary winding of which is connectedby means of the wires 6 in an electric circuit, as a lighting circuit, or one of greater voltage, while the secondary winding is connected by the wires 6 to the aforementioned screws 3 and 3. The screen door B comprises the side strips 7 the upper and lower strips 8, and the middle strip 9,. between which in the upper and lower panels is secured the usual fine meshed screen 10. becured on the inner and outer faces of the aforementioned strips, and covering the upper and lower panels are the supplemental screens 11,'which are of larger mesh than the screen 10, to provide openings inner or fine meshed screen 10 while the wire 13 is bared at two points as seen in Fig. 5, said bared portions being wound around a strand of each of the larger meshed screens 11. Between the bared portions a section of insulation 13 is disposed to insulate the wire 13' from the screen 10. It

will readily be seen that when the screen door' is closed and any flies or other insects pass far enough through the meshes of either of the screens 11 to come in contact with said screen 10, the secondary circuit will be completed through the bodies of the insects, killing them. The opposite ends of the wires 13 and 13 are secured to the screws 8' and 8", respectively. Thus when the door is closedan'd an insect bridges the screens 10 and 11', the current is conveyed on the upper strip through the plates 2 and 2 by means of wires 6, and through the contact fingers 12 and 12 to the screens 10 and 11 by means of the wires 13 and 13 which connect said screens with the spring fingers 12 and 12.

While I have shown a device applied to screen doors, it will readily be understood that the same may be applied to window screens.

- What is claimed is 1. The combination with a screen door frame, of an insect trap consisting of screens of large and small mesh, said screens of larger mesh being secured to said door on opposite sides of the screens of small mesh and out of contact therewith, means to connect to the screens of small mesh one side of a source of current and to connect the screens of large mesh to the other side whereby when an insect in passing through a screen of large mesh contacts simultaneously with said screen of large mesh and the screen of small mesh, a circuit is completed through its body.

2. In combination with a screen door frame, of an insect trap comprising screens of small mesh on the door, means to connect a source of current at one terminal to said screens comprising contact plates secured to the upper portion of the door and frame,

screens secured to the door on opposite sides 1,1emes thereof and being of large mesh to form inlet openings for insects, and similar means to connect the opposite terminal of said source of current to said screens of large mesh.

3. A device for electrocuting insects comprising sets of reticulated metal sheets arranged in parallel relations, the openings of the outer set of sheets being larger than the openings of the other sheets, to permit the tri 111 connections between the sets of sheets being insulated from each other, and electrical connections between the sets of sheets and opposite sides of a source of electric energy.

4. In a device for electrocuting insects, the combination with a screen door frame, of screens of different mesh mounted on the frame in parallel and insulated relation to each other, the screens of large mesh being outside the others, and means for sending an electric current of high frequency through the screens, and the body of an insect which has bridged the screens of dif ferent mesh.

In testimony whereof, I aflix my signature, in presence of two witnesses.

CHARLES E. STIPP.

Witnesses:

O. L. CREASEY, I. F. HUNSAKER. 

